This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title       : 	Mouse movement via the keyboard with xdotool and xbindkeys
Author      : 	Remy van Elst
Date        : 	13-09-2016
URL         : 	https://raymii.org/s/blog/Mouse_movement_via_the_keyboard_with_xdotool_and_xbindkeys.html
Format      : 	Markdown/HTML
---



I had a request from a friend to figure out how she could use her mouse via the
keyboard. Normally you would use [Mouse Keys][1], but she uses a [kinesis
freestyle2][2] which has no numpad. By using [xbindkeys][3] together with
[xdotool][4] we can use our own key combination to move the mouse keys.

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Make sure the packages are installed:

    
    
    apt-get install xdotool xbindkeys
    

Use your window manager to let `xbindkeys` start at startup.

Append the following to your `~/.xbindkeysrc` file:

    
    
    # ALT SHIFT 
    # 10 up
    "xdotool mousemove_relative --sync -- 0 -10"
    Mod1+Shift+w
    
    # ALT SHIFT S
    # 10 down
    "xdotool mousemove_relative --sync -- 0 10"
    Mod1+Shift+s
    
    # ALT SHIFT A
    # 10 left
    "xdotool mousemove_relative --sync -- -10 0"
    Mod1+Shift+a
    
    # ALT SHIFT D
    # 10 right
    "xdotool mousemove_relative --sync -- 10 0"
    Mod1+Shift+d
    
    # ALT SHIFT Q
    # left click
    "sleep 1 && xdotool click 1"
    Mod1+Shift+q
    
    # ALT SHIFT E
    # right click
    "sleep 1 && xdotool click 3"
    Mod1+Shift+e
    

This will let you use the `WASD` combined with ALT and SHIFT to move the mouse.
The `Q` and `E` keys can be used to left and right click, but that is with a
delay of one second. Otherwise some applications like firefox interpret the
SHIFT as an instruction to open a new window which is not what we want in this
use case.

   [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_keys
   [2]: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/
   [3]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xbindkeys
   [4]: http://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/
   [5]: https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212

---

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